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ONLY 20 seafood companies in Malaysia have managed to meet the European Union standard and are allowed to export their products to EU countries, it has been revealed.
Malaysia's deputy health minister Datuk Rosnah Rashid Shirlin said that to ensure more companies qualify to match EU standards his ministry would continue to work with the seafood industry players to ensure that all fish products are of high quality and are chemical free.
She told Bernama, the country's national news agency, following a visit to a fish factory: "We will continue to conduct periodic checks on seafood factories which have met the standard to ensure that they continue to meet those standards."
She thought that one of the main reasons why so many of her country's seafood companies had not come up to scratch was because of the stringent standards set by the European Union, covering all aspects of the production chain including from the time the fish were caught or harvested.
In June 2008, the Malaysian government voluntarily decided to temporarily freeze exports of aquaculture products to the EU after exporters failed to meet health requirements.
The Minister added: "Since our seafood exports provide a very high return to our country, we would want to see an increase in the number [of export companies] and to ensure that what we export is of high quality."
The total value of Malaysian seafood exports to the EU in the past year currently stands at 5,200 tons worth some 72 million Malaysian Ringgits (£14.6 million sterling) - well down on previous years.
However, Europe is not the only market for Malaysian seafood products. Large shipments, mainly consisting of shellfish, are exported to the Gulf states and to Taiwan, Hong Kong and mainland China, Spain and Italy are large purchasers of Malaysian frozen squid and octopus.
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